Ex-Mining Exec Criticizes Federal Prosecutors

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship finished a year-long prison term and immediately took to Twitter to criticize federal prosecutors and regulators and to challenge West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin to a debate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Blankenship, 67, was convicted in 2015 on a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate federal mine-safety laws at Massey’s Upper . . .

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The FBI says overall reports of violent crime increased by 8.6 percent in 2016, and homicides were up 4.1 percent. One analyst called the increases “ominous,” following similar upticks in 2015. Others point out that crime in the U.S. is still at modern historical lows. “What’s going on?” asked another expert. “No one really knows.”

TCR AT A GLANCE

Legislatures around the country are considering—and passing—bills to tighten rules governing the use of criminal informants. The “new wave of reforms” is long overdue for a practice that has historically been secretive and under-regulated, writes a University of California law professor.

The FBI says homicides rose nearly 9 percent last year over 2015, but a deeper look at the numbers suggests that a significant portion of the increase can be traced to individual neighborhoods in a few big cities.

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